Progressive Book Club

Get lefty books for a song. Or, just ideas for books to read.

And speaking of books, do you ever have this problem? I'm reading this terrible, terrible book right now. I really don't want anyone to know I'm reading it, it's that bad. The problem is it's incredibly addictive and I can't put it down. So, I find myself reading it on the metro while trying to hide the cover. Do you ever have that problem? I'm embarrassed to put in on this year's list of books read because I totally don't want people to think I'm the type of person who reads this book. Sigh. Must atone with Leaves of Grass.

Free Concerts!

Here is a round-up of the free concert series in DC this summer, courtesy of the Washingtonian.

Pigs In Boots!

How's this for a happy blog post? This pig was afraid of mud, so they put her in boots.

Happy Blog

Have been given a yellow card for downer blog, so only happy thoughts for the rest of the week. Therefore, I present to you by way of Cute Overload the following:

Terrible Pic

My brother supports the downer blog, so he sent me this series of pictures:

The End of Days

. . . should come on Thursday, according to this guy. That's all well and good, who am I to rain on someone else's doomsday party, my question is: then what? Apparently, he predicted the end of time in 2006. So, what happens afterwards? I'm picturing it like that really bad, awkward party we've all been to where no one shows up and the conversation is thin while people try to think of a way to head for the door. For his sake, I hope he's right. Throwing not one but two failed armageddon parties? Awk-ward.

Tour of Heaven

Watch out for those fifty foot angels, I hear they're a bitch.

Map of Heaven

Hmmm . . . map of heaven, map of heaven. Hmmm . . . can't seem to find myself . . . wait, there I am at #10. Excellent.

Downer Blog

From Gene Weingarten's chat at the Post:

"South African photographer Kevin Carter took this horrifying image of a vulture waiting near a starving little girl in Sudan. It also won the Pulitzer Prize. But it brought Carter no joy. Just months after his win, beset by financial troubles, and haunted by the misery he had borne witness to, Carter took his own life. "

I can't stop thinking about this picture, so I wanted to pass along the trauma.

No More Downer Blog!

Looking through the front page of my blog I realized something: I am a downer. Or, at least, my blog is. And so, I give you this moment of levity. I clearly stole this from a friend's link (thanks!) because, as I said, I am a downer.

Dog Killa

Okay, frankly I'm not a fan of the big, scary genre of dogs. However, even given my bias, this seems a bit crazy. Apparently, while chasing a suspect in connection to a drug raid at another residence an officer shot and killed a neighboring family's dog while the dog was both behind a fence and leashed. Not cool. At least it was in connection to the War on Drugs. Because we all know we're winning that.

War Is Hell

This video is really difficult to watch, so make sure you're in a good mood. And watch out for 3:37.

Having grown up in the shadow of the Vietnam War, I've always had a certain picture in my head of returned vets. From the perspective of a child they always seemed so much older and hardened. The young guys in this video are heartbreaking.